The Scientist

Thanksgiving.

My favorite holiday.

The holidays are changing with every year. The older I get, the more that reality seems to get in the way and take away some of the magic and sparkle from the holiday.

Prime Example. Taylor my older sister had to work Thanksgiving Day and the day after. She couldn’t venture with us to our Grandmother’s house to celebrate with our entire extended family.

My family minus Taylor and her husband Klay.

But some traditions are not going anywhere such as my yearly deer hunt with Jimmy. This Thanksgiving and like every Thanksgiving since I left for college, I went hunting with my dad. Those of you who know me are aware that I like to be active, but this is typically inside a gym, with air condition and water fountains. Real nature is a bit more out of my element. Jordan my 10 year old buddy I was the bright eyed nanny to this summer once told me, “Shelby, no offense, but I don’t think you are a nature girl”. He told me this as we were climbing up rocks and playing in a creek…Right after I slipped and fell taking a tree with me. Clumsy.

Jimmy, the woods and me.

Pitch Black when you walk in the woods to get to the deer stand.

4:30 am until about 9 am sitting with jimmy.

The sunrise is always beautiful and makes it all worth it.

Hunt is over. Deer Stand.

Jimmy. My fearless leader.

Yes, an extreme change of scenery from my typical day. But there is something about it that is peaceful and exhilarating. I know my dad absolutely loves that I go with him to hunt, and that’s why I do it. I want nothing more to make him happy and show him how much I love him. I have never been more thankful for my supportive, loving dad. This year especially I have seen that no matter what happens or what I do in life, my Jimmy is there to help and support me in or out of the woods. 

oh just lovin me some camo and guns.

-SJP

You Will Find Me

“Every story has an end, but in life every ending is just a new beginning”-Uptown Girls

Favorite Quote of ALL time. It’s so true. When a chapter in your life is over, your life continues with new pages hopefully full of mystery and magic. But since life is not always a fairy tale what comes next in your story may be disappointing and scary. As fall semester wraps up, I am realizing how next semester will look so different for me. I chose to fill my life during college with sorority and Panhellenic involvement. This past week all of that changed. My last Panhellenic council meeting as Chaplain, and my last Alpha Delta Pi meeting as Recruitment Vice President was this week. Next semester I will not hold a leadership position and I honestly do not know what I will do with all my spare time. 

(Hopefully devote every minute to finding a big girl job, but that’s another story).

As most people know, I am in love with ADPi’s Creed. I think it is the most beautiful thing ever written. The values and standards addressed in the Creed line up with my own. I think that is why I have really enjoyed holding leadership positions in Greek life at UT. The Christian values of ADPi represent strong women who love the Lord and strive to be Godly women. I think this is why the latest development in Panhellenic is so disappointing. Campus Administration has decided to do away with the Panhellenic Council position of Chaplain. It makes me sad that the issue of being politically correct has more weight than that of what the Panhellenic organizations were founded upon. An international officer came to an ADPi meeting this semester and talked about the history of our chapter. The way she told the story had every woman in the room captivated. The founders of ADPi were women who wanted to make a difference and hold each other to a high standard of morals.

One of the main values that brought these women together was one of the first things to go in today’s culture. As I take a break from packing to go home for Thanksgiving I am thankful for the experiences that have shaped my college years, but I am still sadden by the way times are changing and what was once considered important in Greek life is no longer. Even with the disappointment of the end of the position and my term serving as Chaplain I enjoyed every minute of the past few years, completely consumed by Greek life. But with that being said I look forward to the new beginning that is on the way.

 I may be stepping out of the leadership positions I held but the life lessons

 I learned along the way will walk with me always. 

-SJP

I Know You're Gonna Be There

Cardigans. I have been rockin the cardigan long before they were trendy or fashionable. Sweater sets were the beginning to my love of the cardigan. I lost the sweater sets and have now moved on to oversized sweaters.

Here are a few of my latest favorites:

J.Crew- Cashmere cable boyfriend cardigan

Free People- Eagle Fairisle Cardigan

Anthropologie- Echoing Argyles Cardigan    

There is something so comfortable and easy about a cardigan. I honestly

wear them like security blankets. Today is the first day that I leave my all my cozy cardigans in my little laurel bedroom, as it is cold enough this morning that I needed my winter coat. Sometimes you have to know what is best for you and leave things behind to brave the world for what comes next.  And yet sometimes when you least expect it, you find yourself right back to what you know, what is comfortable, and what you have loved all along.

-SJP

Colder Weather

I am such a creature of habit. At least every morning. It pretty much goes like this: Coffee. Bible Study. Today Show. Gym. And after a shower I am up and going for whatever the day has in store. Lately, it’s just a ton of Alpha Delta Pi. Drowning in housing concerns, philanthropy event drama and elections.

Oh my my little ADPi Elections. Let me backtrack a bit. This has been the fastest year of my LIFE. I can remember this time last year perfectly. I was applying to be Panhellenic President. Fall Formal was the next big date party, and the end of the semester, aka. FINALS were right around the corner. Well…needless to say, NONE of that went as I planned. I did not get Pan Pres, Fall Formal was less than a success, and finals were just finals.blah. Looking back now, I can smile about it all. The disappointment of Pan Pres led me to Recruitment Vice President of ADPi, which changed my entire year. Put me in Knoxville for the summer and serving on Exec for our chapter. I now can laugh at the fail of Fall Formal, realizing that all things happen for a reason forcing you grow up, maturing into who you’re supposed to be in the future. And I realize grades do not define who you are or where you’re going. But at the time I didn’t see any of that quite yet. I went home to Franklin for Christmas Break wondering hmmm what in the world just happened.

Anyways, this morning’s Bible study discussed how the journey of life is hard, but God promises to be our protector and our guide always. My devotion Jesus Calling also discussed life in the terms of a journey. This common theme today took me back. Back to last fall when things seemed all messed up, confusion filled my little mind, and I just wanted an explanation for everything.

God had His plan, everything last fall was intentional, thought out by Him and it prepared me for this moment. The present moment. The past is the past, but what I learned provides great insight on how to handle the future. My disappointments gave me opportunities I did not even see possible, and for that I will thank the Lord for everyday.

-SJP

The Stand

I just finished the Bible study written by Beth Moore called Esther: It’s Tough Being a Woman.  It was absolutely what I needed & I feel like it is no coincidence that it was the perfect study for this season in my little life. God taught me so much about myself and how I need to shift my focus from my strength (more like lack thereof) and start to see His strength is all that I need. 

Esther in a nutshell showed me how an ordinary girl was able to become extraordinary because she trusted in God’s plan for her life. Beth Moore has a fabulous quote in this study. She says, “You cannot amputate your history from your destiny, because that is redemption.” Ester’s history and background were the motivations she had for standing up to the King and ultimately changing history. Like Beth says, we can’t just pretend what happened in the past didn’t actually occur. It changes us, affects us, and needs to be a reminder of where we have been so we know where we want to end up 

and who we want to be along the way. 

If you haven’t studied Esther, I would highly recommend it.

Now Stepping Up: a journey through the Psalms of Ascent begins.

 I am eager to see what is in store.

"So I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned in awe of the One who gave it all"- Hillsong

-SJP